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sticksandbones2024-04-05 10:27 am
sticksandbonesmods) wrote in sticksandbones2024-04-05 10:27 am
Entry tags:
- !event,
- arknights: gnosis,
- arknights: mizuki,
- arknights: passenger,
- arknights: sesa,
- cookie run: dark cacao cookie,
- cookie run: pure vanilla cookie,
- original: kiera canorus,
- original: luca aurelius,
- the owl house: hunter,
- the world ends with you: beat,
- the world ends with you: joshua,
- trigun: livio,
- trigun: vash,
- trigun: wolfwood
EVENT 011
LIFE HAS MANY DOORS, ED-BOY
A DOORWAY OF CONFUSION
The residents of Aldric’s Grove have been down in the dumps recently, haven’t they? Whose fault could that be? Is it the fault of Wolfwood, who started the catastrophic bonfire? The Forest, who took over the body of Elsword and set him to the slaughter? Perhaps it’s the fault of Vash, who disappeared and came back with a corpse, or Beat, who went berserker-mode on everybody. Maybe it’s Gnosis’ general mopey energy spreading like a plague, or the fact that Luca has had the bar closed up for so long, or Pure Vanilla’s forays into his past. Why are you all so depressed, wonders a spirit in the forest, a spirit who has watched you for a long time. Why are you all staying indoors and not talking to each other?
This spirit knows what to do to cheer everybody up. A fun little prank, an event that will spark joy and lead you to somewhere vast and unknowable. Yes… the spirit has been here before, always observing you, even if you don’t often see it. It is the same spirit who hosted that masquerade all the way back in October before diving feet-first into a sinkhole. It is… a walking skeleton by the name of Mr. Bone-Jangles, and he is casting a spell.
At midnight, the sound of rattling bones rings out across the Grove, alongside a chime that sounds like the bell that hangs over the General Store’s door, and then a distinctly warped sound like trying to listen to music underwater. Were you to look outside your windows, you’ll spot a skeleton dressed like a cashier dancing around the well and the two statues next to it, movin’ and groovin’ to the beat of his own drum. Should you try to get outside through a door or a window, however…
You’ll wind up somewhere else. Not where you expected that door to lead, certainly. Your bedroom door might take you to your bathroom, or to your neighbour’s room, or to Ydalir’s tent. Your window might have plopped you right into the church, or the clinic, or one of the many weight-lifting rooms in the rec center. Should you try to leave the new location you’ve found yourself in, you’ll be in a similar spot — these doors also don’t go where they’re supposed to. The doorways have been scrambled, but at least — once they’ve been walked through — their randomized location is permanently set. If the inn doors lead to the bar, they’ll continue to lead to the bar.
Should you manage, by some miracle, to make it outside? Mr. Bone-Jangles will simply wave his phalanges at you and disappear into a puff of smoke.
This enchantment, or perhaps “prank” will last for the month. Good luck, Aldric’s Grove! Merry April Fool’s Month!
This spirit knows what to do to cheer everybody up. A fun little prank, an event that will spark joy and lead you to somewhere vast and unknowable. Yes… the spirit has been here before, always observing you, even if you don’t often see it. It is the same spirit who hosted that masquerade all the way back in October before diving feet-first into a sinkhole. It is… a walking skeleton by the name of Mr. Bone-Jangles, and he is casting a spell.
At midnight, the sound of rattling bones rings out across the Grove, alongside a chime that sounds like the bell that hangs over the General Store’s door, and then a distinctly warped sound like trying to listen to music underwater. Were you to look outside your windows, you’ll spot a skeleton dressed like a cashier dancing around the well and the two statues next to it, movin’ and groovin’ to the beat of his own drum. Should you try to get outside through a door or a window, however…
You’ll wind up somewhere else. Not where you expected that door to lead, certainly. Your bedroom door might take you to your bathroom, or to your neighbour’s room, or to Ydalir’s tent. Your window might have plopped you right into the church, or the clinic, or one of the many weight-lifting rooms in the rec center. Should you try to leave the new location you’ve found yourself in, you’ll be in a similar spot — these doors also don’t go where they’re supposed to. The doorways have been scrambled, but at least — once they’ve been walked through — their randomized location is permanently set. If the inn doors lead to the bar, they’ll continue to lead to the bar.
Should you manage, by some miracle, to make it outside? Mr. Bone-Jangles will simply wave his phalanges at you and disappear into a puff of smoke.
This enchantment, or perhaps “prank” will last for the month. Good luck, Aldric’s Grove! Merry April Fool’s Month!
SAVINGS, SAVINGS, SAVINGS!
One door in the Grove, and only one, will lead you to a completely new space. A space named Alpha Mart, designated by the golden sign. It is, for all intents and purposes, a fairly advanced (by Grove standards) grocery store, and it carries… products of the uncanny and unusual. Once you’re inside, you can’t leave via the door you came from — it’s up to you to find a different exit, because that entrance door will simply plop you back inside.
What kind of products are here, one might ask? Well, the produce section contains the, erm, expected yet unexpected fruits and veggies, which at times seem to be alive and have minds of their own; the carrots will stop mid-yoga session to run away from you, the beetroots will try to bite, the raspberries have tiny eyes, and the tomatoes act much like lemmings, throwing themselves off of the displays at your feet. Nets in a tall, warped basket near the produce section can be used to catch anything that moves, and once caught, they’ll rest like normal food items would in your cart or basket or hands or pockets. All of these are perfectly edible despite the moral implications!
Head on to aisle fifteen, where the snacks are, and you may be pleasantly surprised by the great savings (100% Off!) on blueberry-flavoured pretzel bites, 100% salt peanuts, fried sunflower petal chips, and cookies shaped like Moder’s head. The deli section is a delight of chocolate-flavoured cheeses and lunchmeats with your faces printed on them. Even though some displays clip out of reality, rest assured, you’ll be fine to walk through those spots. The hard-working staff of skeletons are working on cleaning it up. Speaking of cleaning up, do you need something to wash your sins away with? How about some Plausible Deniability?
The walk-in freezers nearby are pleasantly deep and chilly, and should you walk through them, you might find yourself spat out somewhere else. …still within the Alpha Mart, of course. You didn’t think you could leave through a twisting maze of soda bottles, did you? Come on.
%20(1).jpg){kind=link}
What kind of products are here, one might ask? Well, the produce section contains the, erm, expected yet unexpected fruits and veggies, which at times seem to be alive and have minds of their own; the carrots will stop mid-yoga session to run away from you, the beetroots will try to bite, the raspberries have tiny eyes, and the tomatoes act much like lemmings, throwing themselves off of the displays at your feet. Nets in a tall, warped basket near the produce section can be used to catch anything that moves, and once caught, they’ll rest like normal food items would in your cart or basket or hands or pockets. All of these are perfectly edible despite the moral implications!
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/omega-mart-corn-drill-MART0820-69405310e82d45d6976499f3f5750ac3.jpg){kind=link}
Head on to aisle fifteen, where the snacks are, and you may be pleasantly surprised by the great savings (100% Off!) on blueberry-flavoured pretzel bites, 100% salt peanuts, fried sunflower petal chips, and cookies shaped like Moder’s head. The deli section is a delight of chocolate-flavoured cheeses and lunchmeats with your faces printed on them. Even though some displays clip out of reality, rest assured, you’ll be fine to walk through those spots. The hard-working staff of skeletons are working on cleaning it up. Speaking of cleaning up, do you need something to wash your sins away with? How about some Plausible Deniability?
The walk-in freezers nearby are pleasantly deep and chilly, and should you walk through them, you might find yourself spat out somewhere else. …still within the Alpha Mart, of course. You didn’t think you could leave through a twisting maze of soda bottles, did you? Come on.
FUN 100% GUARANTEED OR YOUR SHELLS BACK!
cw in first image link: eyes, trypophobia
After making it through the freezer aisle and its twisting, cold maze of products, you’ll arrive at the, uh… um… the eyeball space! Anyway, let’s quickly move on from there.
Quite a ways out of the eyeball space, where the walls blink at you and follow your every move, is something of a playground indoors, featuring both your run-of-the-mill slides and waterslides where the water is dish soap and the swimming pool at the bottom is white chocolate. Try not to get any in your mouth; it doesn’t taste great! Inner tubes are provided by a skeleton staff member wearing a speedo, who also functions as a lifeguard should you drown in chocolate. Your grocery products can safely be set in a cubby nearby for “purchasing” later. Or you can use them between slide sessions. They are free, after all.
When you’re done with the slides, heading through a side door will lead you into a different section of the Alpha Mart, where the products continue to be bizarre and sometimes-sentient. Anything and everything you can imagine is here, unless it makes sense, in which case it’s completely absent from the store. At the tail end is the checkouts, where Mr. Bone-Jangles stands in his cashier uniform, miming a tired retail worker. He’ll send you through with your products after you pretend to pay him and will refuse actual attempts to pay, and then the exit door to the Alpha Mart will be revealed on the back wall. If you walk through it…
It spits you out in the middle of the Grove, and your silly “purchased” products are gone. If you want to go back in, you’re going to have to find the door again. The entrance should be in the same location it just was, at least.
…or maybe, after all of that, you need to wash the chocolate off and take a nap.
After making it through the freezer aisle and its twisting, cold maze of products, you’ll arrive at the, uh… um… the eyeball space! Anyway, let’s quickly move on from there.
%20(1).jpg){kind=link}
Quite a ways out of the eyeball space, where the walls blink at you and follow your every move, is something of a playground indoors, featuring both your run-of-the-mill slides and waterslides where the water is dish soap and the swimming pool at the bottom is white chocolate. Try not to get any in your mouth; it doesn’t taste great! Inner tubes are provided by a skeleton staff member wearing a speedo, who also functions as a lifeguard should you drown in chocolate. Your grocery products can safely be set in a cubby nearby for “purchasing” later. Or you can use them between slide sessions. They are free, after all.
When you’re done with the slides, heading through a side door will lead you into a different section of the Alpha Mart, where the products continue to be bizarre and sometimes-sentient. Anything and everything you can imagine is here, unless it makes sense, in which case it’s completely absent from the store. At the tail end is the checkouts, where Mr. Bone-Jangles stands in his cashier uniform, miming a tired retail worker. He’ll send you through with your products after you pretend to pay him and will refuse actual attempts to pay, and then the exit door to the Alpha Mart will be revealed on the back wall. If you walk through it…
It spits you out in the middle of the Grove, and your silly “purchased” products are gone. If you want to go back in, you’re going to have to find the door again. The entrance should be in the same location it just was, at least.
…or maybe, after all of that, you need to wash the chocolate off and take a nap.
SPARK NOTES
CLICK TO EXPAND!
A DOORWAY OF CONFUSION
A skeleton has made the doorways stop working properly. Your doors and windows and other entryways now lead to random locations within the Grove. At least once they're locked in place, they don't change. Try not to walk in on your friends changing!
SAVINGS, SAVINGS, SAVINGS!
Welcome to Alpha Mart! There are sentient produce items and other weird products. You're going to be here a while, considering the way out is nowhere to be found. Enjoy shopping! Remember to eat the 100% Salt Peanuts while you're here!
FUN 100% GUARANTEED OR YOUR SHELLS BACK!
This isn't just a grocery store. It also contains slides, chocolate pools, and ten thousand other things that are vaguely horrifying and weird. The way out is through the checkouts. It's a shame that you can't take your products into the Grove with you.
OOC
Happy April Fool’s, Sticks & Bones! Casual modly reminder that we’re allowing you to make up whatever you want for this event due to the nonsense nature of it. Disclaimer: Neither of the mods have been to the Meow Wolf this event is based on. We’re sorry for inconsistencies but something something copyright free use don’t sue us thanks. OOC Plotting Lives Here if you'd like to plot out nonsense alongside actual plot-important things, or just see an update of the recent lore from last month. Have fun!
UPDATES
❖ None yet!
SUBMISSIONS
no subject
Maybe Livio's caught on. Maybe he's been oblivious. Neither of them can deny the fact that Vash has been doing it now, though. Their eyes are practically locked on each other, not to mention the positively gooey smile that starts to spread over his lips.
It lasts only the space of a few heartbeats. Then he's scratching at the back of his head and looking away.]
Jeez, maybe it's not the cloths that did it. Maybe I just needed you around!
[Wait, did he just say that out loud.]
no subject
Me? Aw, no, that can't be it... Hell, I'm the one who made it worse to start with...
no subject
[He shifts closer to Livio at first, then past him as he moves away. He doesn't go far, opting to look at another item on another shelf. The real goal, though, is to bump against him once. Just a gentle, playful nudge.]
I get in my head too much, is all. You saw how bad it was with Nick and I, back when we first got together. [Is there an equivalency there? He isn't sure. It's not like he and Livio are together, right?] Sometimes I just need to not make assumptions. About myself or other folks.
Tough ask, right?
no subject
You kiddin' me? Y'ain't nearly as bad as me. I don't think you've ever made any rude assumptions of me, either...
no subject
[It's hard to explain his logic, but maybe Livio gets it. He uses the images of other people to harbor his own self-doubts. The man probably hadn't ever breathed a single negative word about Vash, but he didn't need to. The whole story was all in the Independent's head.
Speaking of heads, Vash shakes his own.]
What am I doin', gettin' us all down and mopey in a place like this!
no subject
... ah.]
Say, uh, Vash... Tell me if it ain't my business, but... Did you lose your arm? Ain't had it on ya for a while...
no subject
[His voice... does its best to sound chipper. Livio doesn't know it, but it's a sore subject for them both. It makes him feel a little guilty, moving back to something a bit darker when they've only just managed to lighten the mood once more.]
I've been letting Gnosis study it. Figured maybe with his brain and my tech, he might be able to put together a solid prosthetic for Wolfwood. Something that can move and feel a bit like mine, you know?
[The longer he talks, the more somber his voice seems to sound.]
I know I should have been there sooner for him. And maybe I should be doing more, but... If going without an arm for a few weeks means we can get him closer to comfort that much quicker, I'll gladly do it.
no subject
Vash... That's real thoughtful of you.
Y'all have made amends. You're here for 'im now. Ain't that what really matters?
[and in that same vein...]
If you need anything while you're short a hand, let me know, yeah? And... after, too.
no subject
[His sigh is a weary one. He knows getting to down on himself won't go over with either of them. The best he can do is shake it off and force a smile.]
Ah, don't listen to me fuss though. We're all here now, yeah? Together, the group of us. That's what's important.
[Maybe not together-together. But Vash knows he's squandered that opportunity.]
no subject
Hey. No world is perfect, and Nick ain't the kinda guy who'd put up with you if he didn't want to. He still loves you, Vash.
Besides... Listenin' to each other fuss is what...
[hm.
livio's brows crease in thought. he recalls reading in his netbook something it felt like he perhaps shouldn't be seeing at all. he plays back all their stolen glances in his mind's eye. the way nick looks at them, as individuals but also together.
maybe this place isn't the right spot to talk about this, but... where is? their home? awkward.]
... Can I ask... uh... what we are, exactly?
no subject
Surely the Forest itself is laughing at him.]
We're... friends, right? [He tries to dodge the question, offering a feeble little smile up toward him. He knows this isn't the answer that Livio wants, though.]
Look, just because you and Nick and me and Nick are together, it - [He sighs.] I know it doesn't mean anything. Don't get me wrong, I like bein' around you. And maybe before everything, I let my imagination get away with itself but -
[There's a heavy shrug.]
You don't need someone who can't be there for you when you need 'em, Liv. I get that.
no subject
what's more worrisome is the way vash dances around the rest of it. still putting himself down, while implying something deeper. like always, he doesn't know if the plant is just stuck in his head, or genuinely isn't interested...
maybe he should just... say as much.]
... Vash, I'm gonna be real honest. I ain't very good at social intricacies to begin with, and on top o' that, I really can't tell if you're just bein' shy, or you don't wanna get into this at all...
Is it a better question to ask how you feel?
no subject
I like you a lot, Livio. I mean, who wouldn't wanna make eyes at a big, kind cowboy like yourself, yeah? [He tries, so hard, to smile.] But the thing is, I also feel real unworthy. You have a big heart, anyone can see that. You don't d-
[He shakes his head.]
I feel like you don't deserve someone as fickle as me.
no subject
it's kind of wild that vash, the inspiration to wolfwood that then rubbed off on livio, somehow has it in his head that livio is both desirable and unattainable.
in this moment, he isn't sure whether he should give vash space or offer him comfort. he shifts on his feet, not moving away or coming closer.]
Vash. I told you. You've already been forgiven for that stuff. Do y'know how wrong it'd be for me to hold stuff against you, after all the bad I've done? Yeah, you mess up. We all do. I still...
[maybe he does take a step closer. just one, tentative, to make sure he isn't scaring vash away.]
I still think you got an awfully kind heart, yourself, at the center of it all. And I can't think of much in this or any world that's worth more than kindness.
no subject
There's no argument, though. Livio is welcome to keep inching closer, if he so wishes.]
My kind heart just seems to get me into trouble. [His words present an argument, but his voice doesn't seem to support it.] And even if I do good things, it doesn't change the trouble I also cause along the way.
no subject
maybe he's being presumptuous, but... he also offers a hand.]
Is it so wrong to think that that good guy is worth a lil trouble? [livio dares vash to argue that. look at all the trouble he and wolfwood bring vash, and he still wants them around. look at everything nick's been through, and he still wants to be with vash.]
no subject
Well.
Vash finds himself staring at that hand just a little too hard. He hesitates for one second. Three seconds. Five. It's only then that he seems able to summon his strength, to lay his palm flat against Livio's and twine their fingers together. He can't deny that it makes his heart skip. That it makes his head spin.
He doesn't dare believe that Livio's words go as far as he wants to believe them to. But he still manages a smile as he speaks:]
Y'know. If we were talking about you, I'd say yes. So... [His sigh is light, almost amused.] Maybe I oughta practice what I preach?
no subject
[livio feels a very tangible sense of relief when vash takes his hand. maybe it isn't quite as flawless of a fit as nick, but they can work on that. they have time.]
... Sorry to get into all this here. Truth be told, I dunno when a good time or where a good place actually would be, but, uh... Well. Vash... [augh. it's getting awfully warm in here.] If it's alright with Nico, would you wanna... y'know... all three of us be together? That's allowed, right?
no subject
Think - think that'd be alright. [He sniffs one, pushing his glasses up with one motion and then wiping at his eyes in another. It's preemptive, he isn't tearing up quite yet. But close enough.] And I don't think Nick would mind. When we first talked about all of this, I... told him I might be interested.
Just figured I lost my chance.
no subject
Wh... How long ago? [vash has been eyeing him for a... damn decent amount of time. how did he miss that? idiot...]
no subject
[He can't exactly fuss with anything, given that he has only one hand and it's very occupied. He just gives Livio's hand a squeeze in kind to sate the urge to squirm.]
You didn't have to go out of your way for me. But you did.
no subject
he faces vash and lays his free hand on top of vash's, holding the independent's hand between his.]
Hey. You did the same for me... [his eyes wander shyly, settling on their hands.] Nick is... the best thing that ever happened to me. So... in a way, so're you. Thank you, Vash.
no subject
I don't know about all of that - [His voice is soft a hint of doubt lining his tone. He doesn't feel worthy of that kindness, but when has he ever. In any case, he's not keen on arguing, not in this moment.]
But I'm happy to just... be. With you. Around you. Whatever you want.